Juan Luis Benedé Veiga, graduated in Chemistry from the University of Valencia (2010) and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Valencia (2016). He currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Valencia. He is a member of the GICAPC research group. His research areas focus on miniaturized sample preparation techniques and chromatographic separation techniques. In this field, he has participated in several research projects, has published more than 50 publications in journals in the area of ​​analytical chemistry, as well as in more than 50 communications at national and international conferences.

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[Biography, version in Valencian]

Jamal El Haskouri Bennagi holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Valencia, where he completed his thesis titled "Ternary Mesoporous Materials: Control of the Stability of the Inorganic Wall" under the supervision of esteemed researchers Pedro Amorós and María Dolores Marcos. This doctoral work, awarded with the highest distinction, focused on the development and stability of ternary mesoporous materials, making a significant contribution to the field of materials science.

Dr. El Haskouri began his academic journey at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tétouan, Morocco, earning a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 1996. In 1997, he moved to Spain to join the Institute of Materials Science (ICMUV) at the University of Valencia, marking the start of an illustrious career in scientific research and academia. After completing his PhD in 2000, he briefly returned to Morocco to work as a Scientific Collaborator at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tangier before resuming his career in Spain.

His postdoctoral training encompassed several high-impact international projects. Between 2003 and 2004, he conducted postdoctoral research at the ICMUV. Following this, he continued his training at the University of Brest (France) in 2004 and later worked at the University of Montreal and École Polytechnique de Montreal in Canada. At the latter institution, he served as an "associé de recherche" from 2012 to 2015, solidifying his expertise in materials science and heterogeneous catalysis projects.

In 2005, Dr. El Haskouri was selected for the prestigious Ramón y Cajal program at the University of Valencia, where he worked for five years. Starting in 2010, he served as a Research Scientist under contract with the General Foundation of the University of Valencia until 2016, after which he returned as a permanent research staff member until 2023. On July 24, 2023, he was appointed as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Universitat de València.

Throughout his career, Dr. El Haskouri has demonstrated exceptional ability in leading innovative research projects. His primary focus is on the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous materials and nanocomposites for applications in catalysis, sensors, energy generation, and environmental remediation. His scientific output includes more than 117 articles published in high-impact international journals such as Advanced Materials, Chemistry of Materials, and Chemical Communications. These publications have explored topics such as pore size control in mesoporous materials, the synthesis of functional nanocomposites, and the design of novel heterogeneous catalysts.

With an h-index of 27, his research has garnered numerous citations, reflecting the impact of his work on the global scientific community. Additionally, he holds 12 European and global patents, underscoring the practical applicability of his discoveries in the industry. He has supervised over 20 research projects, including PhD theses, Master’s dissertations (TFM), and Bachelor’s projects (TFG), and currently leads several initiatives related to inorganic chemistry and the development of sustainable nano- and mesoporous materials.

Dr. El Haskouri has also been an active participant in international conferences, presenting his findings at events such as the International Catalysis Congress and the European Advanced Materials Symposium. Among his most notable contributions are:

• The development of highly efficient mesoporous catalysts for oxidation reactions in green chemical processes.
• The synthesis of nanocomposites with unique properties for renewable energy applications, including materials for fuel cells and batteries.
• The implementation of novel methodologies for the remediation of contaminated water through selective adsorption of heavy metals.

His international experience and fluency in multiple languages (including Arabic, French, Spanish, and English) have facilitated collaborations with renowned institutions and research centers worldwide. This background has allowed him to establish robust and diversified research networks and to participate in European and transatlantic projects.

In addition to his research activities, Dr. El Haskouri has made significant contributions to teaching, delivering advanced courses in inorganic chemistry, materials science, and nanomaterials at the Universitat de València. His pedagogical approach aims to inspire new generations of chemists by fostering a deep understanding of theoretical principles alongside practical problem-solving skills in complex scientific challenges.

In the realm of scientific outreach, he has also participated in initiatives to promote the importance of sustainable chemistry and advanced materials, highlighting their relevance in addressing global challenges such as climate change and the transition to circular economies.

Jorge completed his MSc in Chemistry at the University of Valencia, undertaking his last academic year at the University of Salford (United Kingdom) in 2005. Then, he began his PhD in Chemical Sciences at the University of Valencia under the supervision of Prof. García-España in Supramolecular & Bioinorganic Chemistry. He combined his PhD with a technician position at Torres Film Plastic. In 2008, he secured a FPU (University Professor Training) grant of the Spanish Science Ministry and focused in his PhD until obtain the qualification of Summa cum Laude in February 2013. He developed polyamine-based molecules capable to tightly bind zinc, copper and manganese as antioxidant mimic agents and nucleic acid drugs. During his PhD, he spent several periods in the groups of Dr. Ivo Piantanida (Ruder Boskovic Institut, Croatia), Prof. Fernando Pina (New University of Lisbon, Portugal) and Prof. Philip A. Gale (University of Southampton, United Kingdom) where he complemented his background skills in Supramolecular Chemistry with different techniques and topics.

From 2013-2015, he carried out two post-docs in Prof. Kristin Bowman-James’s group in the University of Kansas (USA) and Dr. Marie-Paule Teulade-Fichou´s group in Institute Curie (France). He studied anion encapsulation in macrocycles and cryptands and developed novel molecules to target unusual DNA/RNA structures such as hairpins, mismatches, triplexes or G-quadruplexes. In April 2015, he moved to the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London (United Kingdom) as a Newton Fellow of the Royal Society and British Academy associated with Prof. Ramón Vilar´s team. He developed novel tools to visualise G-quadruplexes in cells by using cutting-edge microscopy and metal complexes as efficient anticancer drugs. At the end of 2017, he sought for new challenges and complete his expertise in the nucleic acid field by enrolling the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology (France) associated in the teams of Dr. Valerie Gabelica and Dr. Jean-Louis Mergny as IdEx Fellow. He investigated the application of fluorescent molecular probes to detect and visualise G-quadruplexes in live cells.

In 2019, he obtained a Distinguished Researcher position back in the University of Valencia at the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) through the GenT program of the Valencian Government. His research interests cover the design and preparation of small molecules to target non-canonical nucleic acid structures, the development of tools to visualise these structures in cells, the application of inorganic complexes to study biological processes and the biotechnological applications of nucleic acid super-structures.
 

Carlos Martí-Gastaldo is a Spanish chemist (Premio Extraordinario de Licenciatura) who was

initially trained in Coordination Chemistry and Molecular Magnetism in E. Coronado´s group at

the ICMol-University of Valencia. He received his PhD in Chemistry in 2009 for his work on

‘Multifunctional Magnetic Materials by using Coordination Polymers and 2D Layered Inorganic

Materials’, that was recognized with the ‘Young Researcher Olivier Kahn Recognition’ awarded

by the European Institute of Molecular Magnetism, the ‘NanoMatMol Prize’ to the best thesis in

Nanoscience and Molecular Materials awarded by the GENAM group of the RSEQ, and the

‘Premio Extraordinario de Tesis’ awarded by the Universidad de València He then shifted his

focus to apply his training to the design of Metal-Organic Frameworks during his postdoctoral

stage as a Marie Curie Fellow in M. J. Rosseinsky’s group at the University of Liverpool (2010-

2012). During this postdoctoral stage he was awarded with the ‘Postdoc SusChem Prize’ to young

chemistry investigators by the RSEQ and the Spanish Technological Platform of Sustainable

Chemistry (2011).

He began his independent career in 2013 in Liverpool, with the award of a Royal Society

University Research Fellowship (~40 awarded in the UK annually). In 2014, he returned to the

ICMol with a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (~15 awarded in Chemistry annually) to lead the design

of highly stable MOFs, one of the strategic research lines of the 1st ‘María de Maeztu’ Excellence

program awarded to the center. With the award of an ERC Starting Grant in 2016, he established

his own research group at the ICMol. The Functional Inorganic Materials team (FuniMAT) is

focused on the design and processing of porous inorganic materials for biological and

environmental-related applications. He founded the start-ups ‘Porous Materials for Advanced

Applications’ (2018) and ‘Porous Materials in Action’ (2021) to accelerate the transfer of research

results into socially useful products and services. He received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2021

and is one of the guarantor investigators of the 2nd ‘María de Maeztu’ Excellence program of

ICMol (2021-2024), and main responsible of the implementation of a new research line for the

Molecular Design of Biomaterials in the center.

His independent trajectory has been recognized with the ‘Excelencia Investigadora Prize by the

Real Sociedad Española de Química (RSEQ) y BASF’ (2022), the ‘RSEQ-Sigma-Aldrich Young

Investigator Prize’ (2015), the ‘X Scientific-Technical Prize Ciudad de Algemesí’ for young

investigators awarded by Ayuntamiento de Algemesí (2015), and the VLC/StartUp Prize in two

editions (2022 & 2018) to the 2 start-ups created by the PI. Since 2021, Martí-Gastaldo also acts

as the Equal opportunities representative of the ICMol at the gender equality commission of the

‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres and ‘María de Maeztu’ Units of Excellence Alliance (SOMMa).

Prof. Emilio Pardo Marín. PhD in Chemistry from the University of Valencia (UV), under the supervision of Prof. Francisco Lloret (2006), in the field of Molecular Magnetism. Subsequently, this training served as the foundation for the development of new examples of Multifunctional Materials during my postdoctoral stays (2008-2009) at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France). Since my return to the University of Valencia in 2010, I founded the research team MUPOMAT (www.mupomat.com), focusing on the development of new porous coordination polymers and their application in catalysis and environmental decontamination. As of October 2024, I am a Full Professor in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Valencia.

I am the co-author of 4 patents, 3 book chapters, and 157 scientific articles published in indexed international journals, which have been cited more than 9,000 times (with an average impact factor of 58.3), in the most prestigious journals in the fields of Chemistry (Nature Catalysis, Accounts of Chemical Research, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., etc.) and Materials Science (Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, etc.), with more than 90% of them in the first quartile (Q1). Furthermore, part of this work has been featured on the covers of prestigious scientific journals (9 covers: Small, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Chemistry European Journal, Inorganic Chemistry, etc.), and a significant number of these articles have been classified as 'Hot' or 'VIP' (Very Important Papers), indicating their importance. In this regard, I have an h-index (Hirsch) value of 53 (Google Scholar, April 2024). I appear in the 'Essential Science Indicators' ranking at position 5133 worldwide in the field of Chemistry. Additionally, I have contributed more than 90 presentations at national and international scientific meetings (many of them oral contributions and invited lectures).

I have three recognized active research periods (sexenios) by the CNEAI. Finally, I have participated in a total of 32 R&D projects funded by private, regional, national, and international foundations, serving as the principal investigator in 9 of them. Notably, I was awarded a European project by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant) with a budget of €1,886,000.00.

Coming from a background of analytical chemistry, my research has focused on developing vibrational spectroscopic techniques to address a wide range of bioanalytical problems spanning the clinical and biological fields. Clinical Spectroscopy is a multidisciplinary field that involves research in chemistry, optics, and statistics to provide applications in the biomedical context. I have been very lucky to work in different labs across Europe and Australia, including France (1.5 years), Germany (0.5 years), Australia (4.5 years) and Ireland (2 years). I have finally settled in the University of Valencia with a Ramon y Cajal grant, where I am establishing myself as an independent researcher.

 My contribution to the field of vibrational spectroscopy has advanced knowledge in 4 central themes:
i) Sample processing for IR analysis: Improving clinical spectroscopy methods by using sample pretreatment techniques. 
ii) Chemometrics and data fusion: Application of novel chemometric datamining algorithms. Development of methods for fusing data from different modalities, including infrared (IR) and Mass Spectrometry and the multimodal imaging of IR and Raman.
ii) Infrared and Raman micro- and nano- imaging. Images of cells and tissues using Raman and IR. Use of Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) coupled with IR and Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS).
iv) Translational research. Development of methods for biofluid analysis, and most notably diagnosis of Malaria in developing countries and quantification of clinical parameters for bio-fluids at the hospital level and in the point-of-care context. Field trials in Thailand using portable instrumentation.

Scientific Output:  I have authored more than 60 journal articles and 2 chapters in indexed scientific journals: 55% as the first or corresponding author, 66% of the articles published in the first Quartile (Q1) of their respective field. These works have been cited 1200 times (Jan,2020); h-index is 23; [Google Scholar] and I obtained a granted US patent. As a PI, my projects have obtained more than 500K EUR in funding from institutions in Europe, Australia and Asia.

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After completing my Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry (2008-2013) and obtaining the Master's Degree in Experimental Techniques in Chemistry at the University of Valencia (2014), I joined the Perinatology Research Group at the Research Institute as a research technician. Sanitaria La Fe (Valencia). For 3.5 years, I dedicated myself to the development of analytical methods in neonatal research, specializing in the processing of biological samples, chemometric analysis and various instrumental techniques such as liquid chromatography, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, vibrational spectroscopy, enzymatic techniques and immunoassay. All of this was carried out in a hospital setting, where I gained experience implementing analytical methods in both clinical practice and translational research.

After receiving a competitive PFIS grant (Carlos III Health Institute) in 2017, I completed the PhD in Chemistry in the same group (2017-2022), which included an international stay in the aptamers group of the LIMES-Institute (Bonn , Germany), where I worked on SELEX technology for the selection of aptamers with analytical applications. After obtaining the doctorate, I completed a two-year postdoctoral stay (2022-2023) in the Synthèse de lipides bioactifs group of the Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (CNRS-Université de Montpellier, France), as part of a Margarita Salas Grant from the Ministry of Universities.

Since January 2024, I have enjoyed a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract (Ministry of Science and Innovation-AEI) in the Solinquiana group of the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Valencia.

My current lines of research are:

• Analysis of potentially bioactive lipids, including peroxidation productsof polyunstarred fatty acids (oxylipins) and lipophenols, in novel oxidation and synthesis models using chemometric tools, LC-MS and vibrational spectroscopy. Detection and quantification of these compounds in biological samples (plants, algae and biofluids).
• Development of Point-of-Care methods for the analysis of minimally invasive clinical samples using vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and FTIR) and chemometric techniques.